Army Week: Giving ailing Genocide survivors lease of life

ATHANASE FURERE, 71, is a grateful Genocide survivor whose life’s tale portrays that of thousands of other survivors who, after being saved from machete-wielding militiamen two decades ago have once again received a lease of life in form of specialised treatment. Left with both psychological and physical wounds as a result of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, many survivors required specialised treatment which was not easy through the normal procedure which requires a patient to go for consultation before meeting doctors at a future date. On the initiative of the Rwanda Military Hospital (RMH), working in partnership with the Fund for Genocide Survivors (FARG), a more flexible and effective approach was devised and implemented. Medical doctors organise regular outreach programmes in districts across the country where they meet ailing survivors and treat them from their home districts. Those who require further treatment are referred to Kigali. Furere, 71, a resident of Rwanza village in the rural Gishubi Sector, Gisagara District, is one of those who benefitted from the campaign. After losing sight as a result of Genocide-inflicted injuries, the old man found himself confined to his home unable to move without a guide. But early last year, news broke that a team of RMH specialised medics was to conduct a free medical exercise at Kibilizi Hospital in Gisagara District. Furere, who lost over 50 relatives in the Genocide, says when he heard about the programme, he felt his time ‘to see the world again’ had come. “Losing sight brought desperation and a state of hopelessness in my life. But these military medics restored my life and allowed me to see the world again,” Furere says. “I have regained my sight and I can now move around without anyone’s help. It is a pleasure to see how these soldiers are working hard to transform our lives,” he adds. The special outreach programme was launched on March 14, 2012 at Munini Hospital in the southern district of Nyaruguru. Earlier, FARG had identified about 18, 000 Genocide survivors with serious injuries that required specialised treatment. So far an estimated 30, 000 survivors have been treated in 16 districts, according to Sonia Kalibagiza, the RMH public relations and communications officer. About 15 others have been transferred abroad for services that could not be provided in Rwanda, according to official figures. The figure is far beyond the original target and will continue to increase as the exercise is extended to the other districts, officials say. This year over 1,000 survivors in the northern districts of Musanze, Gakenke and Burera are receiving treatment as part of the outreach programme which will conclude on July 7. “This is a very important programme in the transformation of survivors’ lives,” Kalibagiza says. “It is something that has positively impacted survivors’ lives, improved their health and made them hope for a better future,” she adds. Furere commended the Rwanda Defence Forces and the media for the charitable services. “I had become a burden to others but now I can move by myself,” he says. For Vedaste Rutayisire, the Director of Programmes at FARG, the medical outreach drive has helped boost the morale of survivors because it is being carried out by their ‘liberators’. Rutayisire says those who were treated under the programme are now working hard to improve their lives and help build the country.

National

Army Week: Giving ailing Genocide survivors lease of life